US9898000B2 - Planar positioning system and method of using the same - Google Patents

Planar positioning system and method of using the same Download PDF

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US9898000B2
US9898000B2 US14/400,796 US201314400796A US9898000B2 US 9898000 B2 US9898000 B2 US 9898000B2 US 201314400796 A US201314400796 A US 201314400796A US 9898000 B2 US9898000 B2 US 9898000B2
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axis
positioning system
assembly
set forth
actuator
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US20150127133A1 (en
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Sastra Budiman
Yong Peng Leow
Mun Hoon Ng
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AKRIBIS SYSTEMS Pte Ltd
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AKRIBIS SYSTEMS Pte Ltd
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
    • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
    • G05B19/418—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM]
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
    • G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
    • G03F7/70691—Handling of masks or workpieces
    • G03F7/70758—Drive means, e.g. actuators, motors for long- or short-stroke modules or fine or coarse driving
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/68—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for positioning, orientation or alignment
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/30—Nc systems
    • G05B2219/45—Nc applications
    • G05B2219/45031—Manufacturing semiconductor wafers
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/30—Nc systems
    • G05B2219/45—Nc applications
    • G05B2219/45032—Wafer manufacture; interlock, load-lock module
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/30—Nc systems
    • G05B2219/49—Nc machine tool, till multiple
    • G05B2219/49276—Floating, air, magnetic suspension xy table, sawyer motor, xenetics

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to electromechanical positioning system for precision motion control. More specifically, the present invention relates to precise positioning of integrated circuit wafers, photonic components and the like, and the method of using the system.
  • a conventional XYZ ⁇ positioning system is formed by stacking Y-axis assembly onto X-axis assembly, forming two orthogonal axes. Next, the additional Z-axis is stacked onto the X-axis assembly vertically, and then lastly, the ⁇ -axis is mounted on top of the Z-axis.
  • One limitation of such stacking system of the conventional XYZ ⁇ positioning system is that the positional accuracy is adversely affected by errors in each axis. The positional errors of the entire system will be the results of all the errors of the different axes coupled together.
  • a further drawback of such stacking approach in this conventional XYZ ⁇ positioning system is that adjustment made to any axis will affect the positioning of other axes that are on top of the particular axis. This means that the alignment of the whole system of the conventional XYZ ⁇ positioning system is dependent of the alignment of each axis.
  • the third disadvantage of the conventional stacked system is the high and large footprint required to stack all the axes.
  • This large footprint makes the design of the system to be spatially not efficient, and even not feasible in most of the machine designs in which spatial constraint is critical.
  • a larger footprint of the XYZ ⁇ positioning system in turn affects the footprint of the design of the whole system.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,356 reveals a design of X-Y table utilizing the stacked-up approach. This design has the Y-axis table being stacked onto the X-axis table, resulting in relatively high footprint of the X-Y table.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,081 Another similar stacking approach positioning system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,081, in which the ⁇ -axis is stacked on top of the Z-axis.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,081 also discloses the design of the X-Y stacked table, and a rotary table, ⁇ -axis, is mounted onto the X-Y table. This design also allows for modular X-Y table to be stacked higher up onto the rotary table, forming an even higher footprint system. These stacking systems attribute to the poor footprint efficiency.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,431 utilizes X-Y stages using air bearing elements and a flat surface plate to decouple the vibration and rolling of the Y stage from the X stage.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 7,271,879 uses a decoupled X-Y stage design to obtain a low vertical profile and a moderate footprint size.
  • a moving platform holding the workpiece is floating on the two rigid reference surfaces mounted onto a rigid base.
  • One limitation of such a design is that the calibration and machining efforts are needed for the alignment of the two reference surfaces for parallelism.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,641 is a design in providing a lift stage based on wedge design, providing performance in improved acceleration, speed and system bandwidth.
  • this wedge design is not efficient.
  • the stroke of the lift is a fraction of the horizontal stroke the lift moves, hence accounting for the large footprint in X and Y direction.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 8,008,815 a discloses a planar stage moving apparatus for a machine comprising: first to fourth linear motors for applying, between a base and a table, a movement force to the table, each linear motor including a stator core on which a coil is wound and which is fixed to the base and a mover core to which permanent magnets are attached and which is fixed to the table; an air bearing unit to provide a repulsive force between the base and the table, to separate the base and the table and thereby permit to move under the influence of magnet fields when currents are applied to the coils of the linear motors, wherein the air bearing unit comprises a plurality of air bearing pads for each of said linear motors, wherein the air bearing pads are provided between the permanent magnets of each of said linear motors; and a linear encoder installed on one side of the table to measure movement of the table, the first and third linear motors being provided between the base and the table on the lower and upper sides of the table respectively to move the table in the X-axi
  • U.S. Pat. No. 7,271,879 relates to planar positioning system, comprising: a rigid base; first and second actuator means each having a fixed portion directly anchored to said rigid base, the first and second actuator means each having a respective moveable portion that is linearly moveable relative to the rigid base, wherein the first and second actuator moveable portions are restricted to movement in respective first and second orthogonal linear dimensions; a flat reference surface mounted to said base; a moveable platform for holding a workpiece, the moveable platform being supported for planar movement over said reference surface; a first coupling between the first actuator moveable portion and the moveable platform for effecting movement of the platform in the first linear dimension, the first coupling also serving to guide the platform in the second linear dimension; and a second coupling between the second actuator moveable portion and the moveable platform for effecting movement of the platform in the second linear dimension, the second coupling also serving to guide the platform in the first linear dimension.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 7,257,902 discloses a stage device comprising: a base; a stage carrying a movable body and being moved over the base; a planar motor driving the stage; an air bearing acting to lift the stage over the base; a scale part disposed on the base to include an angle grating which has an angle-related characteristic varied in a two-dimensional direction in accordance with a known function; and at least one two-dimensional angle sensor disposed on the stage so that the at least one two-dimensional angle sensor emits a light beam to the angle grating of the scale part and detects a two-dimensional angle of a light beam reflected from the scale part.
  • Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a decoupled XYZ ⁇ positioning apparatus, wherein the Y-axis linear actuator means comprises two linear actuators arranged in parallel to each other, and the X-axis linear actuator is placed in between these two Y-axis linear actuators such that the distance between the Y-axis linear actuators is more than the range of motion of the X-axis linear actuator means.
  • a further object of the present invention is to provide a decoupled XYZ ⁇ positioning apparatus, wherein the X-axis linear actuator means is placed in the middle of the Y-axis linear actuator means.
  • Another object of the present invention is to provide a decoupled XYZ ⁇ positioning apparatus, further comprises an elastic linkage element to couple the X-axis to the Z-axis and ⁇ -axis, wherein the elastic linkage element has the features of elastically uncouple the flatness, roll, and pitch errors of the whole Z-axis assembly from the X-axis and Y-axis of the apparatus.
  • Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a decoupled XYZ ⁇ positioning apparatus, wherein the flatness, roll, and pitch errors are derived from the rigid flat base which is typically very minimal, and results in the workpiece to have high positional accuracy in these parameters.
  • Still another object of the present invention is to provide a decoupled XYZ ⁇ positioning apparatus, further comprises a positional sensing means for closed loop feedback control for all the X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis and ⁇ -axis, wherein the positional sensing means include linear optical encoder.
  • a further object of the present invention is to provide a decoupled XYZ ⁇ positioning apparatus, wherein each measurement system of the apparatus consists an optical read-head, an optical linear scale and an index sensor to mark a zero position of range of motion.
  • the optical linear scale is mounted rigidly onto a base where there is negligible temperature change, and the read-head is preferred to be anchored onto the moving components, for instance, the moving carriage plate, of the applicable axis.
  • the decoupled positioning apparatus utilizes creative means to achieve high speed, high precision positioning with low profile and moderate footprint.
  • the decoupling of the Z-axis from the rest of the other axes means that the Y-axis and X-axis are not carrying the weight of Z-axis, hence higher speed can be attained. Further decoupling the Z-axis ensures the errors and dynamics of the X-axis and the Y-axis do not propagate to the Z-axis, hence resulting in a more precise positioning of the system.
  • FIG. 1 is a perspective view of XYZ ⁇ positioning system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the basic layout of the four axes and the granite platform;
  • FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the Y-axis component layout of the system of FIG. 1 of the present invention
  • FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the X-axis, Z-axis and the ⁇ -axis component layout of the system of FIG. 1 of the present invention
  • FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view showing the details of the X-axis, Z-axis and the ⁇ -axis in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the Z-axis and the ⁇ -axis lifted out of the X-axis of the present invention.
  • FIG. 1 A decoupled XYZ ⁇ positioning apparatus is illustrated in the drawings, constructed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the overall structure of the positioning apparatus which is illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a Y-axis assembly ( 100 ) which is shown in FIG. 2 , a X-axis assembly ( 200 ), a Z-axis assembly ( 300 ) and a ⁇ -axis assembly ( 400 ) shown in FIG. 3 .
  • the cross sectional view of the combination of the X-axis, Z-axis and ⁇ -axis assembly ( 200 , 300 , 400 ) is also shown in FIG. 4 .
  • FIG. 5 shows the Z-axis ( 300 ) and the ⁇ -axis ( 400 ) lifted up from the X-axis ( 200 ) in accordance with the present invention.
  • the positioning apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 comprises a very flat table top ( 1 ) which is made from a flat material, preferably granite or the like. It is to be realized that the important of the table top is that the material thereof has to be flat and stiff and with low coefficient of thermal expansion, and it is not to limit the material to granite in the present invention.
  • This granite table top ( 1 ) provides a very flat and level reference plane for the slider assembly ( 300 ) shown in FIG. 3 to glide thereon.
  • This granite top ( 1 ) is also provided with two straight and parallel surfaces for mounting the Y-axis guiding rail ( 5 A) and ( 5 B). This will ensure the Y-axis straightness accuracy of the positioning system of the present invention.
  • the Y-axis assembly ( 100 ) as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises Y-axis actuator track ( 2 A) and ( 2 B), Y-axis actuator track bracket ( 3 A) and ( 3 B), Y-axis measuring scale ( 4 A) (not shown) and ( 4 B), Y-axis guiding rail ( 5 A) and ( 5 B), Y-axis actuator coil ( 6 A) and ( 6 B), Y-axis actuator coil bracket ( 7 A) and ( 7 B), Y-axis guiding blocks ( 8 A, 8 B, 8 C and 8 D), Y-axis carriage ( 9 A) and ( 9 B), Y-axis position sensors ( 10 A and 10 B), Joints ( 11 and 12 ), and Y-axis push bar ( 13 ).
  • the Y-axis actuator track ( 2 A and 2 B), with the Y-axis actuator coil ( 6 A and 6 B) are linear actuators that are positioned parallel to one another adjacent sides of the granite top ( 1 ).
  • the Y-axis actuator tracks ( 2 A and 2 B) are mounted onto the Y-axis actuator track brackets ( 3 A and 3 B), which in turn are mounted onto the granite top ( 1 ).
  • the Y-axis actuator coils ( 6 A and 6 B) are mounted onto the Y-axis actuator coil brackets ( 7 A and 7 B), which then are mounted onto the Y-axis carriages ( 9 A and 9 B).
  • the Y-axis motion is guided by the Y-axis guiding blocks ( 8 A, 8 B, 8 C and 8 D) running on the Y-axis guiding rails ( 5 A and 5 B).
  • the Y-axis guiding blocks ( 8 A, 8 B, 8 C and 8 D) is an aerostatic bearing system for high speed applications, a hydrostatic bearing system for heavy duty applications and a rolling bearing system for operating in vacuum environment.
  • the position of the Y-axis is determined by the Y-axis position sensors ( 10 A and 10 B) with respect to the Y-axis measuring scales ( 4 A and 4 B).
  • the Y-axis measuring scales ( 4 A and 4 B) are symmetrically positioned on the two sides of the granite top ( 1 ).
  • the positional information generated by the position sensors ( 10 A and 10 B) is useful as a feedback signal for controlling circuitry that drives the actuators, so that precise positioning can be achieved.
  • the connection of the two Y-axis actuator coils ( 6 A and 6 B) to the Y-axis push bar ( 13 ) is via the usage of two joints ( 11 and 12 ).
  • the joint ( 11 ) is a ball and socket joint that determines the three degree of freedoms namely, the X, Y and Z position of the Y axis assembly ( FIG. 2 ).
  • the joint ( 12 ) on the far side of the Y-axis push bar ( 13 ) is an elastic linkage that will determine three degree of freedoms, which are the Y, Z and ⁇ position of the Y-axis assembly. In this way, the Y-axis push bar ( 13 ) is statically determinate with six degree of freedoms fixed.
  • this connecting mechanism is that the Y-axis push bar ( 13 ) has compliance in the X direction, which is the lengthwise direction of the Y-axis push bar ( 13 ).
  • This coupling mechanism ensures that the system Y-axis movement will not be affected by the parallelism error of the two Y-axis guiding rails ( 5 A and 5 B).
  • the X-axis assembly ( 200 ) as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 comprises a X-axis actuator track ( 14 ), a X-axis actuator track bracket ( 15 ), X-axis guiding rails ( 16 A and 16 B), a X-axis measuring scale ( 18 ), X-axis guiding blocks ( 17 A, 17 B, 17 C and 17 D), a X-axis carriage ( 19 ), a X-axis position sensor ( 20 ), a X-axis actuator coil ( 21 ), and a X-axis pusher plate ( 22 ).
  • the X-axis actuator track ( 14 ), with the X-axis actuator coil ( 21 ) are linear actuators that drive the X-axis carriage ( 19 ), with the motion guided by the X-axis guiding blocks ( 17 A, 17 B, 17 C and 17 D) running on the X-axis guiding rails ( 16 A and 16 B).
  • the X-axis guiding elements ( 16 A- 16 B, 17 A- 17 D) can be an aerostatic bearing system for high speed applications, a hydrostatic bearing system for heavy duty applications and a rolling bearing system.
  • the position of the X-axis is determined by the X-axis position sensor ( 20 ) with respect to the X-axis measuring scale ( 18 ).
  • the X-axis measuring scale ( 18 ) is mounted through the centerline of the workpiece ( 27 ) to reduce the potential for occurrence of Abbe errors.
  • Abbe errors are the errors resulted from an offset between the plane of the measurement axis and the axis of motion of the part.
  • the X-axis pusher plate ( 22 ) is mounted rigidly onto the X-axis carriage ( 19 ). This pusher plate ( 22 ) drives the whole Z-axis and the ⁇ -axis in the X and Y directions.
  • the ⁇ -axis assembly ( 400 ) as seen in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 comprises a ⁇ -axis position sensor bracket ( 23 ), a ⁇ -axis position sensor ( 24 ), a ⁇ -axis measuring scale ( 25 ), a ⁇ -axis guiding roller bracket ( 28 ), a slider decoupler ( 30 ), a ⁇ -axis actuator ( 32 ), a flexible power transmission element ( 33 ), a fixed roller mechanism ( 34 ), a preloaded roller mechanism ( 35 ), Roller mechanism, preloaded 35 , a membrane 36 , ⁇ -axis guiding elements ( 43 A and 43 B).
  • the ⁇ -axis actuator 32 drives the slider decoupler ( 30 ) via the flexible power transmission element ( 33 ) in terms of the rotational direction.
  • the ⁇ -axis actuator ( 32 ) is preferably a direct drive rotary motor with iron core type of brushless motor for high torque applications, or coreless type of brushless motor for applications that cannot tolerate cogging torque.
  • the flexible power transmission element 33 may be a belt for high speed low torque applications or a chain for low speed high torque applications, for this power transmission from the ⁇ -axis actuator ( 32 ).
  • the rotary motion is guided by the ⁇ -axis guiding elements ( 43 A and 43 B) in the radial direction, which will determine the ⁇ -axis positional accuracy.
  • the ⁇ -axis guiding elements ( 43 A and 43 B) may be high precision roller bearings for applications that require high rotary accuracy.
  • the fixed roller mechanism ( 34 ), and the preloaded Roller mechanism ( 35 ), which are mounted onto the ⁇ -axis guiding roller bracket ( 28 ) are the elements that will ensure the rotating Z-axis to have high resistance to pitching moment.
  • the membrane ( 36 ) is mounted rigidly to the slider decoupler ( 30 ), which in turn is anchored to the whole Z-axis.
  • the membrane ( 36 ) will be rotating driven by the flexible power transmission element ( 33 ).
  • the fixed roller mechanism ( 34 ) will glide on the underside of the membrane ( 36 ), and this will ensure the rotation is guided accurately in axial direction.
  • the preloaded roller mechanism ( 35 ) is placed above the membrane ( 36 ), and is preloaded by the spring element to press against the top side of the membrane ( 36 ), so that the motion will be constrained axially.
  • the position of the ⁇ -axis is determined by the ⁇ -axis position sensor ( 24 ) with respect to the ⁇ -axis measuring scale ( 25 ).
  • the ⁇ -axis position sensor ( 24 ) is mounted rigidly onto the ⁇ -axis position sensor bracket ( 23 ), which sits onto the X-axis pusher plate ( 22 ).
  • the positional information generated by the position sensors ( 24 ) will be used as feedback signal for controlling circuitry that drives the ⁇ actuator, hence the precise positioning of the ⁇ -axis can be achieved.
  • the Z-axis assembly ( 300 ) which comprises a workpiece holder ( 26 ), a workpiece ( 27 ), an aerostatic bearing mechanism ( 29 ), a piston decoupler ( 31 ), a slider body ( 37 ), a slider guiding element ( 38 ), a Z-axis piston ( 39 ), a Z-axis sealing element ( 40 ), a Z-axis locking mechanism ( 41 A, 41 B, and 41 C), Z-axis fine positioning actuators ( 42 A, 42 B, and 42 C).
  • the aerostatic bearing mechanism ( 29 ) is an air bearing that utilizes a thin film of externally pressurized air to provide frictionless load-bearing interface between the surfaces of the aerostatic bearing mechanism ( 29 ) and the granite table top ( 1 ), allowing the high precision of the flatness of the X and Y positioning.
  • the aerostatic bearing mechanism ( 29 ) is air bearings that channel pressurized air through an orifice or a porous material.
  • the methods of mounting the workpiece ( 27 ) onto the workpiece holder ( 26 ) can be via suction or via mounting screws and bolts.
  • the preferred method is the former, in which the workpiece holder ( 26 ) contains orifices that can channel the vacuum to the contact surface of the the workpiece ( 27 ). This yields the advantage of maintaining the flatness of the workpiece ( 27 ) by not easily distorting the profile due to the clamping stresses induced by the mounting screws and bolts.
  • the Z-axis movement is segregated into two components: the coarse movement and the fine movement.
  • the coarse movement typically covers the clearance distance for loading and unloading phase for the workpiece ( 27 ), and can be up to 20 millimeters of distance.
  • the fine movement typically is for the final precise positioning of the workpiece 27 , and normally covers less than one millimeter in distance.
  • the components involved are the slider body ( 37 ), the slider guiding element ( 38 ), the Z-axis piston ( 39 ), the Z-axis sealing element ( 40 ), the Z-axis locking mechanism ( 41 A, 41 B and 41 C).
  • the working principle of this coarse Z-axis is similar to that of a pneumatic cylinder, where one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize the technology.
  • the slider body ( 37 ) acts as a closed vessel for the externally pressurized air to push the Z-axis piston ( 39 ) up to the end position which is defined by the Z-axis locking mechanism ( 41 A, 41 B, and 41 C).
  • the motion of the upward movement is guided by the slider guiding element ( 38 ).
  • the guidance from the slider guiding element ( 38 ) will be disengaged, leaving the exact determinate Z-position to be defined by the Z-axis locking mechanism ( 41 A, 41 B, and 41 C).
  • the Z-axis sealing element ( 40 ) is mounted onto the circumference of the Z-axis piston ( 39 ) to provide the sealing of the externally pressurized air within the whole vessel of the slider body ( 37 ).
  • the Z-axis sealing element ( 40 ) is an O-ring used in pneumatic system.
  • the Z-axis locking mechanisms ( 41 A, 41 B, and 41 C) are kinematic couplings that allow zero degree of freedom of the Z-axis piston ( 39 ).
  • One example of the kinematic couplings can be three precision shafts mounted onto three vee grooves.
  • the pressure of the externally pressurized air is set at a level high enough to press the Z-axis piston ( 39 ) against the three Z-axis locking mechanisms ( 41 A, 41 B, and 41 C) and freeze this topmost Z-position.
  • the retract mechanism for this coarse movement there are generally two ways.
  • One way of the coarse movement is the application of the working principle of double-acting cylinder, whereby there are two air ports on the slider body ( 37 ). One air port is to allow the upward motion; while the second air port will allow the retract movement of the Z-axis piston ( 39 ). The second way of the coarse movement is to switch between pressurized air and vacuum on the lower air port to allow the upward and downward motion respectively.
  • the components involved include the piston decoupler ( 31 ), the Z-axis fine positioning actuators ( 42 A, 42 B, and 42 C), the workpiece holder ( 26 ), and the workpiece ( 27 ).
  • the three Z-axis fine positioning actuators ( 42 A, 42 B, and 42 C) are placed 120 degree apart on the same plane mounted rigidly on the Z-axis piston ( 39 ), and the actuators ( 42 A, 42 B, and 43 C) drive the workpiece ( 27 ) which is mounted on the workpiece holder ( 26 ) to the final fine Z-position.
  • the element holding the workpiece holder ( 26 ) and the Z-axis piston ( 39 ) is the piston decoupler ( 31 ).
  • This piston decoupler ( 31 ) is a linkage that has features to decouple the Z-position, and the two tilt moment ⁇ and ⁇ of the workpiece ( 27 ) from the Z-axis piston ( 39 ), and also serves as guidance for the three actuators ( 42 A, 42 B, 42 C). These three degrees of freedom allows the three Z-axis fine positioning actuators ( 42 A, 42 B, and 42 C) to actuate independently and the workpiece ( 27 ) will serve as a table that has both piston movement and also tip-tilt movement.
  • the Z-axis fine positioning actuators ( 42 A, 42 B, and 42 C) can be piezo actuators with very fine resolution, or precision screw spindle driven by rotary geared motor with encoder feedback. This feature of segregating the Z-axis into coarse and fine components yields the following advantages:
  • the granite table top ( 1 ) provides a base for the positioning apparatus of the present invention, and is a slab or the like having a substantially flat and level upper surface.
  • the inner side of the table top ( 1 ) has two flat and parallel surfaces where the Y-axis and X-axis assemblies ( 100 , 200 ) are mounted on through the Y-axis guiding rails ( 5 A and 5 B).
  • the two Y-axis actuator coils ( 6 A and 6 B) with their Y-axis actuator tracks ( 2 A and 2 B) are mounted on the outer side of the table top ( 1 ). These Y axis actuators ( 6 A, 6 B) shown in FIGS.
  • the X-axis assembly ( 200 ) is connected to the Y-axis assembly ( 100 ) through the joints ( 11 and 12 ).
  • the X-axis assembly ( 200 ) is connected to the Y-axis assembly ( 100 ) through the joints ( 11 and 12 ).
  • the misalignment and the parallelism error from the two Y-axis guiding rails ( 5 A and 5 B) will cause the Y-axis not to perform consistently along the Y-direction movement. In the worst case, this misalignment in parallelism can cause friction to increase to an unacceptable level that leads to actuator to stall.
  • this apparatus uses two joints ( 11 and 12 ) to address this issue.
  • Joint ( 11 ) is a ball and socket joint that will constrain the X-axis by three degree of freedoms namely, the X, Y and Z position.
  • the joint ( 12 ) is an elastic linkage that will fix three degree of freedoms, which are the Y, Z and ⁇ position. With these six degrees of freedom constrained, the X-axis assembly is statically determinate.
  • the issue of the flatness and parallelism error arising from the two Y-axis guiding rails ( 5 A and 5 B) is addressed by the joint ( 12 ) that can comply in the X-direction and the two tilting moment ⁇ and ⁇ .
  • the construction of the X-axis assembly ( 200 ) is such that the X-axis is a low profile and compact assembly with the bearings spaced out across the width of the Y-axis push bar ( 13 ) to have the stiffness in roll and pitch.
  • the guiding rails ( 16 A and 16 B), the X-axis actuator track ( 14 ) and the X-axis measuring scale ( 18 ) are placed strategically near the level of the centre of gravity for the moving mass for the apparatus. This will ensure that the Abbe errors for the X-axis assembly be minimized.
  • the construction of the ⁇ -axis assembly ( 400 ) is such that the ⁇ -axis involves the rotation of the Z-axis as a whole body together.
  • the ⁇ -axis rotary axis is perpendicular to the granite table top ( 1 ) surface, with the aerostatic bearing mechanism ( 29 ) gliding on the thin film of externally pressurized air on top of the table top ( 1 ).
  • This ⁇ -axis assembly ( 400 ) is driven by the ⁇ -axis actuator ( 32 ), with the power transmitted by the flexible power transmission element ( 33 ), for example belt or the like.
  • This ⁇ -axis actuator ( 32 ) is rigidly anchored to the X-axis pusher plate ( 22 ), and this allows the ⁇ -axis assembly to be free of the moving mass of the ⁇ -axis actuator ( 32 ).
  • the accuracy of the ⁇ -axis derives from the ⁇ -axis guiding elements ( 43 A and 43 B) mounted onto the X-axis pusher plate ( 22 ), which may be high precision roller bearing to guide on the ⁇ -axis for applications that require high precision ⁇ -axis radial run-out accuracy. For the axial run-out accuracy, it is derived by the three points of flotation from the aerostatic bearing mechanism ( 29 ) on the granite table top ( 1 ). This construction allows for several advantages:
  • the construction of the membrane ( 36 ) and the X-axis pusher plate ( 22 ) enables the locking mechanism of the whole ⁇ -axis and Z-axis onto the X-axis pusher plate ( 22 ) after the workpiece ( 27 ) has completed in terms of the ⁇ -axis calibration.
  • the membrane ( 36 ) is a thin element anchored on slider decoupler ( 30 ) which couples to the Z-axis assembly, which is capable of deforming elastically upon the effect of vacuum force.
  • the X-axis pusher plate ( 22 ) is an element that has orifices that can channel the externally pressurized air or vacuum to the contact surface of the membrane ( 36 ).
  • the X-axis pusher plate ( 22 ) is capable of allowing the externally pressurized air through the orifices. This will allow the membrane ( 36 ) to be able to float on the thin film of air with the motion smooth and frictionless.
  • the X-axis pusher plate ( 22 ) will then activate the vacuum through the orifices to suction onto the membrane ( 36 ), which will be elastically deformed and bond with the X-axis pusher plate ( 22 ) under the effect of the vacuum.
  • the position of the whole ⁇ -axis and Z-axis is frozen and coupled to the X-axis.
  • the slider decoupler ( 30 ) is a linkage element that is anchored to both the membrane ( 36 ), which in turn is fixed to the X-axis, and also the slider body ( 37 ), which in turn is coupled rigidly to the Z-axis.
  • the slider decoupler ( 30 ) has features that can elastically uncouple the Z, ⁇ and ⁇ of the whole Z-axis assembly from the X-axis and Y-axis of the apparatus. This yields the following advantages:
  • a controller (not shown) is coupled to drive the all the actuators of the X-axis ( 21 ), Y-axis ( 6 A, 6 B), Z-axis ( 42 A, 42 B, 42 C), and ⁇ -axis ( 32 ) to position the workpiece holder ( 26 ) according to predetermined program or the like.
  • the controller preferably controls the actuators in a closed loop feedback arrangement using positional signals derived from the X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis and ⁇ -axis position sensors ( 20 , 10 A, 10 B, 24 ).
  • the controller may include a memory to enable creation of a data table to record systematic errors in the overall motion of the system with respect to a precise external reference during a calibration phase. The data in the table can then be used to adjust the motion of the platform during normal use in order to minimize the systematic errors.
  • the method of using the planar positioning system is as follows:

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WO2014120082A1 (en) 2014-08-07

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